New research says the Internet and social networking sites are not the threat to children we’ve been led to believe. A report from the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire says there’s no evidence to support assertions that online predators are stalking or abducting unsuspecting victims based on information they provided on social networking sites, and that Internet in general is not more dangerous than other environments that children or adolescents frequent.

Janis Wolak of the Crimes Against Children Research Center makes clear however that the possibility that Internet use could fuel sex crimes against children does still need to be taken seriously.